Fabio Florido is one of techno’s latest up and coming DJs to spring from the fertile clubbing scene of Florence, Italy. His ties to Ibiza, however have indelibly shaped him as a DJ after being plunged in the deep end with a residency at Richie Hawtin’s former 'ENTER' night at Space.

Since then, he’s notched up an impressively prolific number of EPs on labels like Matador’s RUKUS and Dubfires’ Sci+Tec as well as dates at key events like Time Warp, Tomorrowland, Sonus and Sunwaves.

Ibiza Voice: what's your favourite standout memory of this year so far?

Fabio Florido: Time Warp, Mannheim. After eleven years attending the festival and experiencing it on the dance floor I got to open Floor 2 which is exactly my favorite floor. No words can describe the feeling of playing in such an important place and to see all of your friends in support with flags and hugs.

Where do you source your music from?

Everywhere. I receive many promos from labels of course but I only play a minimal amount. The biggest portion of music that’s closer to my taste comes from digging very deep on Beatport, Hardwax for something more crazy, Discogs or other producers sending me their unreleased material.

You’ve moved around a lot in the past few years, how have these places helped you?

I lived in London, Ibiza and now Berlin. Without the London experience I wouldn’t be the person I am now. I learned English and a lot of life lessons during the four years I spent there. I went to London when I was 19 and worked in restaurants and public transport while enjoying the nightlife, plus of course making my first steps with music. Berlin now is giving me exactly what I need. It’s the perfect city to lose yourself in synths, drum machines and to talk about music all day. Experiencing the nightlife of these three places (plus Italy of course) taught me a lot.

Tells us about your time in Ibiza?

I did four seasons in Ibiza from 2011 to 2014. I moved there directly from London and worked for Zoo Project as a PR the first year. The next I started working for Richie Hawtin’s ENTER party at Space in the promo team. For the third year, I became a resident DJ while I was still doing the promotion side. I loved to be part of [Enter] in multiple ways and I learned a lot.

How has the island changed?

Working as a PR means talking with tourists all day. What I realised while I was working [in this job] was that in the beginning, everyone was coming to the island with a schedule of parties to visit. In the last years [of working in promo] many tourists didn’t know what Space club was or who Sven Väth was. More and more people, who are not necessarily into music, are coming to the island because they heard it’s fun. I’ve only been there once so far this summer so I can’t really say how it is, but I think there’s more [of a link] between the "commercial” and “underground” parties.

What’s the hardest challenge you’ve faced in your career so far?

Becoming a resident of the Sake bar at Space. Before that residency, I was a resident DJ in a small club in my hometown and only played techno. When the offer from ENTER. came, I was asked to open the room at 21:00 p.m all summer. I had to completely reinvent my music bags. I'm so thankful now, that experience made me unlock my musical tastes so much. Nowadays, I love to play deeper sounds, grooves and techno layering those genres all at the same time.